When your child is sick, friends and neighbors rally around you by making meals and listening when you need to talk. When your child is sick from a drug addiction, the reaction of friends can be different. Instead of rallying, many people run, leaving the parents to feel guilt, shame and isolation.
Ryan Lewin, 20, started experimenting with marijuana while in middle school. His mother, Deb refers to marijuana as the gateway drug. “I made a mistake in thinking that he was only doing marijuana, but I didn’t know he had an addictive brain,” says Lewin who lives with her family of seven in Naperville.
By his sophomore year, her son soon moved on to prescription drugs. Lewin got her son medical care through Linden Oaks, an Edward Hospital facility, and had him on complete lockdown at home. Although Lewin believed that her son was safe, the drugs, now including heroin, still found their way into the house. Payment for the drugs came in the form of the family’s personal items, including their own prescription drugs.
“Our life was a roller coaster,” says Lewin. With drugs finally out of the picture, things got better in the Lewin house. Her oldest son was home from Afghanistan and Ryan was recovering. During that time, Ryan tried to help his best friend, who was also an addict. Sadly, Ryan’s help came too late and his friend overdosed.
It marked the beginning of another struggle for the Lewin family. Ryan went back to his old ways and was arrested on drug charges twice in four months, she said. This time, he told his mother he needed help. “It was the best gift I could get,” says Lewin. Her son went to treatment at Rosecrance, a behavioral health service facility in Rockford, where they helped him get over the death of his friend.
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By the time he was 18, Ryan was sober and Lewin began her own healing. She attended Al-Anon and Nar-Anon meetings. “You draw strength from hearing other people’s stories,” says Lewin, who also attended Parent Cafe, a support group through Rosecrance.
While sharing her family’s story was helpful, Lewin was looking for a way to help families overcome the stigma of addiction and recovery. Addition does not discriminate, says Lewin. It affects individuals of every race, lifestyle and socioeconomic background.
In 2014, Lewin started her own support group, Positive Acceptance Towards Healing, which meets twice a month at Linden Oaks in Plainfield. Speakers are invited to share and educate the group based on a monthly theme. In January, the theme was “New Year, New You” and included discussions on the healing powers of essential oils and a relaxing yoga instruction.
Lucy Kennedy lives only a few blocks from the Lewins and although their sons were in the same grade in school, their paths rarely crossed. Kennedy’s son, Nick, is a recovering addict whose drug use started when he was 15. “Nick was an insecure kid and the drugs gave him confidence,” says Kennedy, who also felt isolated from her friends and neighbors.
In August 2013, Kennedy’s son overdosed for the first time. Not everyone dies from a drug overdose says Kennedy. If the addict is found in time, he can be injected with naloxone, also known by its brand name, Narcon. Much like an EpiPen, the injection can give an overdose victim the time needed to get emergency medical treatment.
When Lewin heard about Nick Kennedy’s third overdose through her son, she did not hesitate to reach out to Kennedy at the hospital and tell her about PATH. Kennedy went to the very next meeting and has been there ever since. “If Deb did not come in and I didn’t go to the PATH meetings, my son would not have gotten the help that he needs.” says Kennedy.
In addition to mental support, PATH is creating a scholarship fund to help families pay for recovery. The first scholarship will go to Kennedy’s son.
Lewin proudly shares that her son was 23 months sober in February.
“These are good kids, but the drugs can make them ugly monsters” says Lewin. “I am so grateful to finally have my son back.”
Pam Molnar is a freelance reporter
Facebook: groups/pathfoundation
What: PATH support Meeting
When: Second and fourth Wednesdays of each month
Where: Linden Oaks, 24600 W. 127th St., Building B, Suite 330, Plainfield
Contact: [email protected]
Call: 630-234-4271